


Start to Find the Devil in Your Demons

by stardustgirl



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (and no one’s gonna argue with that because it’s facts), (zuko and his fam+katara are still the same though bending-wise), Airbender Toph Beifong, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, Badgermole, Earthbender Aang (Avatar), Family Issues, Fire Nation Royal Family, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Reluctant Friendship, Roleswap, Stubborn Katara (Avatar), Tagging as I go, Water Tribe(s) (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar) Has Depression, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, as in one (1) because the rest, everything changed when the water tribes attacked, no beta we die like men, rip in peace :), uhhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24383284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustgirl/pseuds/stardustgirl
Summary: He finds the boy underground.  It’s not the place you’d expect the famed Avatar to be hiding, especially not for a hundred years.All his life, Father has made sure he’s known just how unlucky he is, just how good he is at attracting the streaks of misfortune you only read about in stories.Now, however, Zuko’s beginning to wonder about his luck.
Relationships: Aang & Iroh (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	1. The Forgotten Swamp

**Author's Note:**

> me, writing avatar fic? it’s more likely than you’d think !
> 
> ANYWAY, this is basically an AU where the earthbenders were the ones who got wiped out, the Water Tribes took over, the Airbenders are just chillin’ at this point, and the Fire Nation has been reduced to a small fleet of warships and a few scattered land-based camps.
> 
> Title from “Vaccine” by hometown & young.

He finds the boy underground.

Zuko and his uncle are traveling through the still-flooded plains of the Earth Kingdom, through what the map says was once called Senlin Village. Now, however, it’s just a swamp of dead trees and the barely-visible rooftops of houses long since drowned. Something about the whole place sends chills down his spine.

Their eel hound swims through the rotting corpses of houses with long, powerful strokes of her legs, and Zuko swallows hard at the uneasy silence. It feels like they’re walking into a trap.

He’s just not sure _what_ trap.

The eel hound continues until they reach a hill, one tall enough it rises a few dozen feet above the waterline. Zuko guides the creature over and reins her to a halt once she’s climbed atop the knoll, dismounting as she lies down.

“Nephew? Where are you going?” Iroh calls after him as he starts toward the opposite side of the wide hill.

“I’m gonna see if there’s anything useful in this swamp,” he answers, shielding his eyes with a hand. He scans the horizon, scowling as he only sights the tops of dead trees and long-abandoned houses. “There’s nothing. This place is _useless._ ”

“Ah, but use is not just determined by outside appearance, Prince Zuko. Come. Sit for a while, and see what you can learn about this town by looking _inward._ ”

He’s used to his uncle’s proverbs by now, so Zuko just nods, sighing inwardly and returning. The eel hound is sniffing the side of the hill intently, snuffling loud enough Zuko finds it irritating. “Quiet!”

The beast doesn’t react, of course—why would she, when Zuko is so insignificant compared to her?—and he sighs, stalking towards her head. “What?! What’s got your attention so much you can’t even be _quiet_ about it?!”

“Zuko—”

“Not now, Uncle!”

At his insistence, the creature starts to dig at the hill, grumbling to herself. Sighing, Zuko steps closer to shoulder her head out of the way. He sends a tightly controlled stream of fire into the ground with a hand, brow furrowing in concentration. The eel hound takes several steps back in surprise, but her attention remains infuriatingly on the ground Zuko is in the process of scorching. With a cry of frustration, he forces himself to pour more effort into the impromptu hole.

And then he sees a light.

Zuko scrambles backward so fast he trips and falls, pushing himself back across the mud— _ew ew ew Azula would never let him forget this if she heard about it ewww—_ and toward Iroh. His uncle halts him with a hand on his shoulder, and Zuko’s breath catches. He’s barely conscious of the sensation of the thin fabric covering his elbows digging into the mud, squelching loudly beneath him, as the ground surrounding his little hole starts to _pull apart._

“Uncle, we need to—”

“—get out of here. This way!”

Zuko rolls over and pushes himself to his feet, stumbling after Iroh as the older bender leads the way back to the eel hound. The creature manages to stay calm just long enough for Zuko to mount up after his uncle, grabbing the reins and turning her away from the hill. She whines and just about _flings_ herself into the water, cutting through the swamp like a knife. He finally reins her in again when he feels they’re far enough away to be safe, turning her toward one of the half-submerged houses and guiding her up onto the roof. She obeys, turning with her riders to glance back at the hill.

All his life, Father has made sure he’s known just how unlucky he is, just how good he is at attracting the nearly comical streaks of misfortune you only read about in stories. Now, however, Zuko’s beginning to wonder about his luck.

Because the hill _they just escaped from_ explodes with a bright light.

He and Iroh shield themselves from the majority of the onslaught with raised arms before Zuko points a hand at the rocks, fire roaring from it to blast away the shrapnel. Finally, when the pebbles have stopped raining down, he lowers his arms, expecting to see the damaged hill. He does see the hill, of course.

But he also sees a creature he’s only heard about and seen in paintings, a massive one, an animal said to have gone extinct after the Water Tribes flooded the Earth Kingdom. A badgermole.

And cradled in its paw, a boy.

* * *

The last thing Aang remembers is the storm.

He remembers lightning crackling down from the sky, slashing white, jagged ribbons across the darkness of the forest canopy that seemed to get closer with every move. He had clung to Tai’s fur as the wind grew stronger, whipping around him with hurricane force and suddenly everything had been white and then...he’d woken up.

And now, he’s here. Cradled protectively against Tai’s chest, her growl at the pair standing on a roof within sight of them reverberating through him.

“Who are you?!” the younger of the two shouts, adopting what Aang immediately recognizes as a firebending stance. The older man raises his hands placatingly.

“Whoa, whoa! I’m Aang!” he says, raising his hands in a similar fashion to the older man.

“How did you get stuck in there, Aang?” he asks, brows knitting together. “Are you all right?”

Running from his room in the palace in the middle of the night. Finding Tai in the stables. Riding frantically through the forest on her. The storm.

And then this.

“I– I got stuck in a storm,” he says, gaze flicking to the firebender. “I’m not gonna hurt you guys. Promise.”

There’s a moment of hesitation before the older man grunts. “Zuko, it is okay. I think he is telling the truth; I do not believe he will harm us.”

The firebender—Zuko—pauses again before relaxing his stance, though his legs stay apart. “Fine. But tell your badgermole to stand down. It looks like it’s gonna claw our eyes out.”

He shifts in Tai’s paw, patting her leg, and she grumbles softly before setting him down into the mud. He pats her paw, smiling. “Thanks Tai. They’re okay. They won’t hurt us.” The badgermole grumbles and shifts her weight back to sit on her haunches. He turns back to the firebender and the old man. “Come closer so we can talk! I can’t really see you much from up here.”

They turn to each other, speaking quietly for a minute before they mount the eel hound. The creature whines nervously but eventually, they manage to coax it into the water. It swims over, sniffing deeply up at Tai’s paws as the badgermole rumbles.

“You said your name was Aang?”

He nods to Zuko’s question. “Yep!” A fleeting worry of whether he should tell them who he is leaves as quickly as it came. He needs to tell them just who they’re making friends with. “I’m the Avatar.”

Zuko actually stumbles back while the old man blinks. “‘The _Avatar?_ ’” Zuko echoes. “But you’re….You’re _dead!_ ”

“Uh, no? I think I’m pretty alive.” He turns to glance up at Tai. “Tai, what do you think?” The badgermole grunts, and Aang smiles.

“Well, Aang, I am Iroh, and this is my nephew, Zuko. We are Fire Nation. We can return you to your family, if you tell us who they are. The Fire Nation is moving its central camp constantly, but—“

“Oh, thanks, but I’m not Fire Nation.”

“Air Nomad, then? We can take yo—“

“No, Uncle, he’s the Avatar! I need him to restore my honor and—“

“I’m an earthbender! Like I said, I’m the Avatar, and the Earth Kingdom was the next in the cycle.” Zuko and Iroh both blink this time, shocked. Aang frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“You...might want to sit down…” Iroh begins nervously. Zuko, however, simply scowls.

“You _can’t_ be an earthbender, because all the earthbenders are _dead._ ”


	2. Avoidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Misogyny, Referenced Child Abuse

Katara is irritated.

And that’s putting it simply.

The intel their scouts had given them regarding the current location of the Fire Nation’s centralized camp had turned out to be a bust. _Had_ because her father’s message about it had arrived only minutes before, despite the attempted raid happening nearly a month ago. This delay is only the first in a long, long list of issues concerning their current objective, issues that will become problems if she’s not careful. It frustrates her to no end, too.

And _then,_ even on _top_ of all of that, there is the issue of aiding.

Girls have been allowed to fight since—well, since _never._ But Katara’s been working on a way to change that, with Hama’s help. They’ve been working on something together—well, more so _Katara’s_ been working on learning something that Hama has apparently already mastered in secret, and kept it from even Katara, her own protégé. Their hope is that Katara can bring it up in the next strategy meeting with Father, and suggest that since it was girls who perfected— _created,_ if she’s honest with herself—this technique, that girls be the ones allowed to use it in battle.

She knows it’s a long shot. But that doesn’t mean she can’t try.

They still have a ways to go, though, because Father won’t return for another several weeks, and she hasn’t even gotten _anyone’s_ permission—much less Father’s—to bring up an entirely new type of waterbending at the meeting.

She’s guaranteed a _spot_ at the meeting, of course. About a year ago, after her and her brother’s unapproved excursion to the North Pole, Sokka had somehow managed to convince Father to let her sit in on future meetings. He had taken it up with the Council and, surprisingly, they had agreed. And sure, she had only sat in on one meeting so far, but it was kind of hard to sit in on more when the other two since her induction had been in the North Pole and she—and Sokka, too—had been firmly banned from traveling there without permission again, at least for the foreseeable future. Though, if she’s honest, Sokka is much more likely to be ungrounded than she is.

Despite being guaranteed a spot at the meeting, however, she is _not_ guaranteed an actual _voice_ at the meeting.

Which is why she finds herself seeking out Sokka, despite their tenuous relationship since the trip last year.

He’s out with a group of the other men, working on repairing a captured warship. He’s working on a section of the hull, frowning in concentration as he hammers the metal smooth. She waits until she’s just behind him before tapping him on the shoulder.

Sokka yelps in surprise before turning to see her. “Oh, Katara.” He exhales before raising a brow in surprise. “Wait, what’re you doing here?”

“I have a question.”

He nods, setting his hammer down. “Sure.”

Sokka follows her to a spot further away from the ship, far out of hearing of the others. “Okay, spill.”

“I’m going to the next meeting with you and Father and the Council, right?” He nods. “And you saw how the first one went. Tell me honestly: do you think they’d _really_ let me talk much?”

“That’s if they let you talk at _all,_ Katara.” She sighs, despite knowing he’s right. She _has_ been expecting this, after all.

“But I _need_ to. I’ve been—” She cuts herself short, remembering Hama’s strange insistence at the fact that they keep the new technique secret before she unveils it at the meeting. Clearing her throat, she instead says, “I have a new idea. A...a new strategy.”

Sokka’s brows shoot up in interest. “Yeah? Can you tell me about it? Or is it a surprise?” Katara shakes her head, and her brother sighs dramatically. “You and your surprises.”

“I promise you’ll like it.”

“Whatever. If it involves meat, maybe. Oh, did you see what they brou—”

“Sokka!”

He jumps at the call, turning to see one of the other men working on the ship gesturing. Sighing, he rubs his eye.

“It _better_ involve meat,” he says in farewell, smiling tiredly before heading back to the ship. Katara watches him for a moment, withholding her own sigh. Sokka has more potential out on the battlefield; they both know it. The fact that Father doesn’t want to risk another member of their family after Mother is understandable, of course. And the North Pole incident definitely didn’t help with that. But Sokka grows more restless with his grounding every day. At least Katara’s used to staying behind by now. Border skirmishes and the occasional raid on Fire Nation warships that wander too close aren’t enough for her brother, however.

 _But staying in your village and_ diplomatically _bringing up your new technique is enough for_ you?

She ignores the thought. She’ll get her chance. She _will._ She has to.

And when she does, so will Sokka.

* * *

“Come, Nephew. Sit.”

Zuko shoots the badgermole—Tai, the kid had called her—a glance before walking over to Iroh, sitting cross-legged beside him. The spot gives him a good view of the Avatar’s pet, and should serve as enough of a warning in case the creature decides to attack.

“Hey, it’s okay. Tai won’t hurt you,” the Avatar says, and Zuko swears to every spirit he knows of that he’s pretty sure reading minds _isn’t_ in the Avatar’s toolkit.

Apparently, though, he must be wrong. Azula would be having a _field day_ if she could see him now.

“I didn’t say it would,” he snaps, glowering.

“You seemed worried,” the Avatar explains, shrugging. Zuko’s gaze narrows further.

“I was _not_ worried.”

The Avatar talks too much, he thinks. In all honesty, he’ll be _glad_ when they’re back to his father with the Avatar. When he’s back with his family, with his _honor._ Then he won’t have to talk to some little kid unless he _wants_ to.

“So, Aang. What brought you to this hill?”

At Iroh’s question, the Avatar stiffens. Zuko’s gaze narrows and he shifts forward slightly. The boy begins stroking the badgermole’s fur, twisting his fingers into it, and it takes a moment for him to answer. “Tai and I were...on a walk through the forest. And then a storm hit, so we decided to take cover.”

Iroh nods, removing the tea kettle from the bag of supplies next to him. He rises with a grunt, likely to go fill the kettle, but Zuko stands just as fast. “Let me do it.”

“I am not too old to make my own tea, Zuko. You sit, and get to know your new friend.”

“He’s not my…” he trails off with a sigh as Uncle walks away into the darkness.

“So you’re a firebender?” He raises an eyebrow at the question before nodding to the small fire they’d started to cook the fish he and Uncle had caught in the swamp after the kid exploded half the hill. Thankfully, he takes the hint and nods eagerly. “That’s cool! I have some firebender friends! I wonder if they still want to—oh. I...I forgot about....”

The sudden change in expression in the boy’s face is enough to elicit a stir of _something_ in Zuko. Not _compassion._ Fire Nation princes don’t feel _compassion._ No, this is more just...surprise. That’s it. But _not_ compassion.

The pair is silent for a while, and Zuko is about to make some excuse about checking on their eel hound just to break the awkwardness when Aang clears his throat. “So that guy’s your uncle?” At Zuko’s wary nod, he continues. “He seems like a cool uncle. Does he firebend?”

“Yes.”

“That’s awesome! What about the rest of your family? Are you _all_ firebenders? That’d be so cool!”

Started by the barrage of questions, Zuko takes a moment to get his bearings before answering. “Uh...those of us left are.”

Aang frowns, the fire playing off of the expression and creating something more akin to a spirit than a boy in appearance than anything. “What do you mean, ‘left?’ Where’d everyone else go?”

Thankfully, Uncle’s reappearance saves him from answering. He doesn’t want to think about his mother right now, or any other time. The older firebender is humming under his breath, stooping to set the kettle down before sitting down again himself. He pulls the lid of the kettle out of the bag, and Zuko allows his mind to wander away from the events of today.

The small group is quiet for a while again, and Zuko finds the silence almost as agitating as the boy’s incessant questions. He fidgets with the cuff of his sleeve, memories creeping in that he stays busy specifically to avoid. But, of course, this is Zuko. And if he knows anything, it’s that any streaks of luck—even Avatar-catching ones—won’t hold long for him.

Unable to hold the shades of long-repressed memories back any longer he stands up, exhaling sharply. “I’m gonna go practice my bending,” he says, turning and stalking away into the darkness before either can protest. He finds a quiet spot at the far side of the hill, and starts going through his katas without a thought. He can’t risk actually firebending, not at night, not in the middle of an abandoned Earth Kingdom swamp. The fact they made a cook fire was risky enough, but they didn’t actually feel tugs on the fishing lines until too late into the evening to do anything about it, and Zuko nor Iroh hadn’t wanted to waste food.

Despite knowing all of that, he still wishes he _could_ use his fire. It’s so much easier to push aside thoughts of the Fire Lord when he’s sending torrents of flame at rocks, imagining Azula and Father’s faces both painted across them. It’s a lot harder to forget the pain of rejection when it stares you in the face on every still body of water, or when you can’t shoot flames into the night to banish the echoes.

His scar itches again, as it always seems to do when he’s reminded of its existence, and he lets out a shout of frustration and kicks out, sending imaginary flames toward an equally false enemy before freezing, shoulders and chest heaving, though with _what,_ he doesn’t know.

Footsteps.

He whirls, already in a defensive stance that wavers before relaxing at the sight of Iroh. His head drops and he sighs.

“Sorry, Uncle. I didn’t know it was you.”

Iroh waves in dismissal. “What is troubling you?”

Cutting straight to the chase. Typical. Zuko sighs. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“I am your uncle. I think that is cause enough to have concern for you. You have found the _Avatar!_ What could possibly be upsetting you now?”

That’s just it, he thinks. _Nothing_ should be upsetting him now. But _something_ is. He just can’t put his finger on it. There’s no way to articulate the lingering shadows that cling to him like the dust to a herd of ostrich horses.

“Nothing,” he lies, turning away. “Go drink your tea and talk to the Avatar. I still need to—“

A hand finds his shoulder, giving it a firm, yet gentle, squeeze. “Do not bottle yourself up, Zuko. You need to _talk_ to someone.”

“No, I don’t.” He pulls out of his uncle’s grasp.

Iroh doesn’t press, and for a moment, Zuko thinks he’s just walked back to the fire so silently he didn’t notice. But then he hears the quiet sigh.

“Is it the anniversary drawing near?”

Heat searing into his face, blooming into a hideous burn. Father’s voice, cold and disgusted with him. Hurriedly shoving things into a bag until his arm grazed the side of his face and he found himself crumpling under the pain. Azula’s cruel laughter as he began the long walk to the port.

And all of that, just two weeks short of three years ago today.

“It doesn’t matter,” he says, voice much softer now. “I’ll rejoin you two soon.”

Iroh sighs, and a moment later Zuko can hear his retreating footsteps heading back toward the Avatar.

It’s several minutes before he can drag himself back into his katas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen i know nothing about making tea okay im sorry


	3. Lessons by Fire

When they go to leave the next day, the kid’s badgermole flatout refuses to swim. Zuko can’t believe this. “You’re the _Avatar,_ and your _pet_ is scared of _water?!_ ”

“She’s a badgermole, why would she—”

“You know what, never mind!”

The kid says something else, but Zuko blocks him from mind, turning to Iroh for guidance only to feel the earth below them suddenly shift. Their eel hound whines, and Zuko turns back to Aang to see him doing what almost looks like some type of bending—albeit much more rigid than the movements of firebenders—as a wall of rock rises up from the water, splitting and separating to create a dry path between. So _that’s_ what earthbending looks like.

Zuko doesn’t realize he’s gawking until Iroh says, “Well _done,_ Aang.” Quickly he clamps his jaw shut, nodding in muted agreement as the Avatar beams and climbs onto Tai again.

He doesn’t say anything else about the Avatar’s badgermole and her apparent dislike of water.

* * *

A couple of hours later, though, Zuko is going crazy. He has no other choice at this option.

Thankfully, the kid is on his own badgermole, and not sharing the eel hound with him and Uncle. If Aang had been on the same mount as them...Zuko shudders at the thought.

The kid is just _talking,_ endlessly.

“So one time, Tai and I wanted to see who could earthbend a tunnel the fastest, so—”

“She’s a _badgermole._ You can’t _talk_ to her!”

Aang shoots him an unreadable glance. “Well I did! So anyway—”

He opens his mouth to interrupt again when Iroh clears his throat quietly, tapping his shoulder. Zuko turns.

“Let the boy keep his happiness,” he says. “It will only last a little while.”

Swallowing hard, Zuko nods. “Sure,” he says hoarsely.

So the kid keeps prattling. And Zuko has to let it happen.

They break for lunch on a level rock outcropping, thankfully, and the kid is hungry enough to stay quiet. Zuko turns to Iroh.

“I need to ask you something.”

Nodding, the man rises, and the two walk to a spot just out of earshot of the earthbender and his badgermole.

“How do we return the Avatar to Father without him escaping?”

Iroh strokes his beard for a minute, thinking. Finally, he says, “You could always...not bring him back.”

Zuko scoffs. “What, and risk being marked a _true_ traitor? No. I’m bringing him back, and I’m _going_ to get my honor back by doing so.”

Iroh gives him a long, critical stare, and Zuko gets the feeling he’s being judged. “What?!” he says finally, frustrated.

“You must regain your _own_ honor, Prince Zuko. Your father is not the one who decides who has honor or not. That is a decision you must make on youri _own._ ”

Zuko’s already shaking his head, sighing. “Yes, he _is,_ Uncle. I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You left of your own accord.”

His uncle doesn’t respond this time, and a quick glance over reveals him deep in thought. Zuko sighs inwardly. He should try to make up for that, at least. After all, it’s fairly common knowledge that though his uncle wasn’t formally disowned, his departure alongside Zuko still put him under mass scrutiny. And he doesn’t know how long he would’ve made it out here alone _without_ Uncle, either.

“Look, I...how am I supposed to stand by and let everyone else get slaughtered when I could have brought the Avatar back to help? Regardless of what Father says, it’s the honorable thing to do.”

Iroh only hums noncommittally, and Zuko feels his heart sink. The only person whose approval he cares about as much as his father’s is his uncle, and it seems he doesn’t have it any longer.

“I’m gonna go eat,” he says finally, walking back to the kid. He feels Iroh’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t react.

* * *

They stop for the night on a large, flat rock fairly early, while it’s still light out, and Zuko has a feeling that’s in large part due to his uncle’s not-so-subtle nudges to talk to the kid. Sighing, Zuko finally acquiesces after the third glance in as many minutes, and walks away from Iroh to where Aang is talking to his pet.

“Hey.”

Aang glances up. “Hello.”

“So what’s your plan for fighting the Water Tribes?” he begins bluntly. The boy blinks.

“I can’t fight them.”

“Of course you can. You’ve _got_ to!”

“But...I don’t know how to fight.”

“You’re the _Avatar._ You’ll figure something out!” Zuko replies, frustrated with the kid’s insistence on pacifism rather than simply standing up for himself and the rest of the world. “Your _job_ is to fight and save the rest of us!”

“But—”

“No buts,” he snaps, gaze dark. The old pain in his scar creeps into his mind, reminding him of what happens if he fails. “You’re saving us. You’re destroying the Water Tribe armies. Case closed.” Zuko turns away, intending to go work on his own firebending technique somewhere where a 12 year old can’t track him down to protest against the war that’s taken everything from him and his people.

“But I don’t even know _how_ to bend anything else!”

Zuko pauses at that. He turns halfway back toward Aang, raising a brow.

“What do you _mean_ you don’t know how to bend? Doesn’t that come with the title?”

“Yeah, but I still need a teacher for everything else.”

Agni, this kid is going to be the end of him. Sighing loudly, Zuko walks back toward him. “You have earth down pat. Anything else?” The boy shakes his head. “Alright, well, fire comes next in the cycle, so...looks like you’re headed to the right place.”

“Are you saying you’ll teach me?!”

Him, _teach_ somebody?

“Uh, no.”

Zuko considers himself to not be swayed easily, but the disappointment in the kid’s eyes is hard to ignore. It’s definitely not Uncle’s constant reminders that _he_ is in control of his honor, or the fact that his country needs _someone_ to save them. Definitely not those, just some Avatar trick the kid’s pulling. Yeah. Of course. “I’ll teach you the basics,” he rasps. “But _only_ the basics. Got it?” The kid nods eagerly, and Zuko adopts the first of the basic forms. “Okay, follow what I do.”

By the time Iroh comes to stop them for dinner, nightfall has crept up, ambushing the both of them before they can even realize it’s dark. Zuko coughs, cinders flying out and landing in the damp earth beneath them. Aang raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment, and the two head over to the small cook fire. Zuko moves to sit by Iroh but just as quickly his uncle rises, making up some excuse about checking on the eel hound before moving off, abandoning Zuko to the mercies of Aang and Tai. Great.

“Thanks for teaching me, earlier,” Aang says after a moment. Zuko grunts.

“It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, but...you’re a really good teacher.”

He raises a brow in surprise at the comment, but doesn’t reply otherwise. Aang takes a bite of his bread roll, hand absently winding through the badgermole’s fur as his gaze falls on the fire. Zuko finds his own eyes drawn there, too, the flames’ constant dance hypnotic.

“So, uh...what’s gonna happen to me when we get back to the Fire Nation?”

Zuko blinks, looking up. “What...do you mean?”

He shrugs, reaching to pick up a pebble and rolling it around in his palm, increasing and decreasing the density by turns. “Like...I don’t think they have Avatar school there, and I have to learn water and earth at some point too.”

“You’ll be fine,” Zuko says automatically. He’s not sure where the response comes from, only it seems like the kind of false reassurance his father would say. He suppresses a shudder.

The Avatar nods, looking back up with a smile. “Thanks, Zuko.”

He can’t accept gratitude for lies. Instead, he simply nods, and lets his gaze drift back to the flames of his native element.


End file.
